Gaming machines have been in prominent and growing use for over a century. The terms “gaming machines” mean machines that provide a user with the opportunity to play a game of chance (such as for example slot machines), video gambling machines, and arcade video games. Establishments that utilize gaming machines have become ubiquitous. With such a gaming machine, the user plays the game by sitting or standing in front of the machine and inserting coins or other forms of credit, and/or manipulating one or more control on the game provided by the gaming machine.
Notwithstanding the widespread presence of these types of gaming machines for many scores of years and the very substantial industry that has developed to provide such gaming machines for gaming establishments and businesses, the applicant has discovered that the prior art gaming machines typically present a problem for the users of these machines and those who maintain them. The problem is that these machines do little if anything to provide adequate, much less convenient, temporary resting places for drinks, food, or other items that users very often will have with them, or prefer to have with them, when playing games on the machines. This situation has presented a particularly significant problem for gaming users who have disabilities of the type making it difficult to move from the front of a gaming machine in order to access drinks, food, and other items while using the gaming machine.
One example of a prior art gaming machine and associated resting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,846,333 to Kissick, entitled “Coin Caddy Attachment for Vending Machine.” The Kissick reference discloses a coin caddy that a user can carry from one gaming machine to another gaming machine and rest in position on the coin slot device on one or more such machines. The Kissick coin caddy has limited utility since it is designed to carry only coins. Interestingly, the Kissick reference notes that gaming machine users will desire not only to operate the machine but also do so while consuming food or beverages, etc. See Col. 1, 11. 62-68.
Yet another prior art gaming machine and resting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,229 to Perez, entitled “Customer Support Device for a Gaming Machine.” The Perez device provides a small rest for drinks and other items, and the Perez rest is fixedly attached to the side of the gaming machine. The Perez rest is therefore somewhat limited in utility due to its size, and it is not readily adaptable to store larger items, such as larger food items. The Perez rest is also somewhat inconveniently located since it is located off to the side of the machine. Also, the Perez rest can be difficult to clean since it is rigidly attached to the machine, and it cannot be removed and, for example, washed in a dish washing machine.
Thus, while food trays themselves have long been utilized in other fields of art, the applicant believes that the gaming machine industry has not fully appreciated the need for them and their utility and advantages if developed and made more widely available, convenient, or useful in connection with gaming machines and users of them. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,858,796 to Roth, entitled “Vehicle Tray”; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,476 to May et al., entitled “Computer Furniture With Integrated Computer.”